Stolen Kia SUV towed, Milwaukee teen's body found inside

MILWAUKEE - A 17-year-old Milwaukee boy was found dead on Monday, June 5 in a car that had been towed to the city's tow lot on W. Lincoln Avenue Thursday. The victim's mother identified him as James Stokes.

Police said the boy was found shortly before 11 a.m. inside the stolen SUV that crashed into a tree near 91st and Fond du Lac. FOX6 found the bumper of the stolen white Kia still at the scene on Monday.

James Stokes

Surveillance shows the police arriving at the scene shortly after the crash. An ambulance transported the driver, a boy, 16, to the hospital, where he was later arrested. The damaged SUV was taken to the city tow lot and remained there until Monday morning when the police were called to the lot off Lincoln Avenue. It was then that they discovered the body of a 17-year-old boy on the floor of the back seat.

SIGN UP TODAY: Get daily headlines, breaking news emails from FOX6 News

The Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s Office is investigating the cause of death.

MPD and DPW are also investigating.

It's not the first time this has happened. In January 2022, a car was towed away after a fiery crash near 76th and Green Tree, and hours later, a tow lot attendant found a woman's body in the back of the car. 

In 2018, a 4-year-old girl spent hours in a vehicle taken to the tow lot after her mother was arrested for OWI.